It's a start

Mathieu Dandenault was getting anxious over the Canadiens' position in the standings, and wanted to make sure he didn't have to watch this year's playoffs from the sidelines. The Sherbrooke native led by example, scoring the Habs' second goal of the night and logging a +2 rating in his team's energetic 5-1 win over the Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre tonight.


This game, the first of two in Montreal against the archrival Leafs, brings to light some important questions, like, Why can't the Canadiens play like this more consistently when it counts? Why doesn't Alex Kovalev dominate the game more often, as he did on this night? Why isn't the officiating always this levelled?

Perhaps the most important question, however, is whether the Canadiens will do as they have done too often this season and flop the game after building some momentum, as I fear they will do Saturday night. The other possibility is that they use this effort, which started out strong and barely faltered throughout, as a springboard that will thrust them into the playoffs. Having Andrei Markov and Craig Rivet in the lineup will certainly help the latter occur. But the success of this team depends not on one or two individuals, but on the collective. They have to put together more efforts like this - and more often - if they are to reach the post-season.

Expect David Aebischer to play sometime in the not-too-distant future, probably against Pittsburgh on Sunday. Whether Aebischer is able to face his demons is just one small part of what will predict the outcome of his next game, and of all remaining Canadiens games. The Canadiens have to heed the messages Dandenault and captain Saku Koivu have sent them: play as a team, play hard, and play well. Turn the page on the misfortunes that hounded them earlier this season. Tonight's whomp against the Leafs was a start, but it only gets harder from here.